Protestantism abandoned Christendom by way of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and Catholicism did the same in the Declaration of Religious Liberty of the Second Vatican Council. Because ...
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Protestantism abandoned Christendom by way of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and Catholicism did the same in the Declaration of Religious Liberty of the Second Vatican Council. Because scholars have misinterpreted and manipulated the historical background of the meaning of the Free Exercise of Religion and Establishment of Religion, they have led legislators and judges back into the problem of Church and State that prevailed in Christendom, and that the Amendment solved. As a result, the Supreme Court's interpretation of the First Amendment has reached a point of deep confusion and crisis. Whereas the Amendment was intended to specify government's lack of jurisdiction in religion, modern interpretations of it have conferred upon government power to define the meaning of the Free Exercise of Religion, religious neutrality, and what aids or hinders religion. The way out of the present confusion lies in confining government to what is secular and forbidding it to make religious assessments and decisions. Examining the decisions of the Supreme Court, this work demonstrates that by reconnecting with the history of the First Amendment and approaching it as a limitation on the power of government, rather than as a grant to government to protect religious liberty, the courts can escape the crisis and confusion they are presently experiencing. Religious liberty is a natural right. Within the meaning of the First Amendment, the Free Exercise of Religion means freedom from government jurisdiction in religion, not a government guarantee to allow individuals to exercise the religion of their choice.Less

Farewell to Christendom : The Future of Church and State in America

Thomas J. Curry

Published in print: 2001-11-29

Protestantism abandoned Christendom by way of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and Catholicism did the same in the Declaration of Religious Liberty of the Second Vatican Council. Because scholars have misinterpreted and manipulated the historical background of the meaning of the Free Exercise of Religion and Establishment of Religion, they have led legislators and judges back into the problem of Church and State that prevailed in Christendom, and that the Amendment solved. As a result, the Supreme Court's interpretation of the First Amendment has reached a point of deep confusion and crisis. Whereas the Amendment was intended to specify government's lack of jurisdiction in religion, modern interpretations of it have conferred upon government power to define the meaning of the Free Exercise of Religion, religious neutrality, and what aids or hinders religion. The way out of the present confusion lies in confining government to what is secular and forbidding it to make religious assessments and decisions. Examining the decisions of the Supreme Court, this work demonstrates that by reconnecting with the history of the First Amendment and approaching it as a limitation on the power of government, rather than as a grant to government to protect religious liberty, the courts can escape the crisis and confusion they are presently experiencing. Religious liberty is a natural right. Within the meaning of the First Amendment, the Free Exercise of Religion means freedom from government jurisdiction in religion, not a government guarantee to allow individuals to exercise the religion of their choice.

This paper introduces the multiplicity of official concepts, definitions, and measurements of economic contributions and performance of formal and informal enterprises in India’s manufacturing and ...
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This paper introduces the multiplicity of official concepts, definitions, and measurements of economic contributions and performance of formal and informal enterprises in India’s manufacturing and services sectors. Conceptually, formal (or informal) enterprises are distinguished by registered (or unregistered), organized (or unorganized), and regulated (or unregulated) enterprises. Employment size is a major criterion to define these enterprises. In contrast, registered and unregistered small scale enterprises are uniquely defined by size of capital investments. Using the national level databases, the economic performance of formal, informal, and small scale enterprises is separately measured by their contributions to production, employment generation, and use of assets in rural and urban areas. This implies that the standardization of concepts and definitions are a precondition for establishing comparability between the databases, or for the measurement of economic contributions and performance of India’s formal and informal enterprises.Less

M. R. Narayana

Published in print: 2006-09-01

This paper introduces the multiplicity of official concepts, definitions, and measurements of economic contributions and performance of formal and informal enterprises in India’s manufacturing and services sectors. Conceptually, formal (or informal) enterprises are distinguished by registered (or unregistered), organized (or unorganized), and regulated (or unregulated) enterprises. Employment size is a major criterion to define these enterprises. In contrast, registered and unregistered small scale enterprises are uniquely defined by size of capital investments. Using the national level databases, the economic performance of formal, informal, and small scale enterprises is separately measured by their contributions to production, employment generation, and use of assets in rural and urban areas. This implies that the standardization of concepts and definitions are a precondition for establishing comparability between the databases, or for the measurement of economic contributions and performance of India’s formal and informal enterprises.

The motives of the pro- and anti-Union forces in Scotland in the years leading to 1707 are analysed. It is shown that they were mixed, but that trade, security, and material interests all played a ...
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The motives of the pro- and anti-Union forces in Scotland in the years leading to 1707 are analysed. It is shown that they were mixed, but that trade, security, and material interests all played a role. The first ever analysis of flows of the vote in the last Scottish Parliament identifies the swing voters. The union was a genuine bargain, in which each side possessed credible threats. The paradoxical establishment of two rival churches is analysed.Less

The Union of Westminster and Edinburgh Parliaments, 1707

Iain McleanAlistair McMillan

Published in print: 2005-09-29

The motives of the pro- and anti-Union forces in Scotland in the years leading to 1707 are analysed. It is shown that they were mixed, but that trade, security, and material interests all played a role. The first ever analysis of flows of the vote in the last Scottish Parliament identifies the swing voters. The union was a genuine bargain, in which each side possessed credible threats. The paradoxical establishment of two rival churches is analysed.

Union of England and Scotland 1707: Darien; succession crisis; trading issues; nature of the treaty. Church establishment in both countries. Union of Great Britain and Ireland 1800–1: United Irishmen ...
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Union of England and Scotland 1707: Darien; succession crisis; trading issues; nature of the treaty. Church establishment in both countries. Union of Great Britain and Ireland 1800–1: United Irishmen 1798; French wars; trading issues; Pitt's plan and George III's veto.Less

1707 and 1800: a Treaty (Mostly) Honoured and a Treaty Broken

Iain McleanAlistair Mcmillan

Published in print: 2009-11-12

Union of England and Scotland 1707: Darien; succession crisis; trading issues; nature of the treaty. Church establishment in both countries. Union of Great Britain and Ireland 1800–1: United Irishmen 1798; French wars; trading issues; Pitt's plan and George III's veto.

This chapter examines the evidence for anticlericalism during the period, paying particular attention to the suggestions of considerable levels of anticlericalism in the late 17th and early 18th ...
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This chapter examines the evidence for anticlericalism during the period, paying particular attention to the suggestions of considerable levels of anticlericalism in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and in the early 19th century. It considers the levels of hostility shown to the established Church and the clergy by dissenters from the Church, and the activities of satirists and the press, especially over the collection of tithes, and the establishment of the Church.Less

Anticlericalism

David Albert Jones

Published in print: 2007-09-06

This chapter examines the evidence for anticlericalism during the period, paying particular attention to the suggestions of considerable levels of anticlericalism in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and in the early 19th century. It considers the levels of hostility shown to the established Church and the clergy by dissenters from the Church, and the activities of satirists and the press, especially over the collection of tithes, and the establishment of the Church.

This chapter details the end of exclusive religious establishments and the birth of a more civil religious climate in America. As the Revolution neared, the ideal of “religious liberty” assumed ...
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This chapter details the end of exclusive religious establishments and the birth of a more civil religious climate in America. As the Revolution neared, the ideal of “religious liberty” assumed prominence. At the same time, the traditional ideal of toleration was rejected by those whose ancestors would have gladly received it. Voluminous newspaper and pamphlet disputes over a colonial Anglican bishop and the campaigns for religious liberty in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania revealed the contours of a new cultural environment. In the integrated religious setting of pre-revolutionary America, harsh language itself could seem like a violation of religious liberty. With a much larger range of groups participating freely in the discussion of public problems, the scope of injury was widened to include the intangible slights that once would have gone unnoticed. The end of toleration left revolutionary-era Americans with the challenging task of articulating their differences through inoffensive rhetoric.Less

“None Are Tolerated” : The Rise of Religious Liberty

Chris Beneke

Published in print: 2006-11-01

This chapter details the end of exclusive religious establishments and the birth of a more civil religious climate in America. As the Revolution neared, the ideal of “religious liberty” assumed prominence. At the same time, the traditional ideal of toleration was rejected by those whose ancestors would have gladly received it. Voluminous newspaper and pamphlet disputes over a colonial Anglican bishop and the campaigns for religious liberty in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania revealed the contours of a new cultural environment. In the integrated religious setting of pre-revolutionary America, harsh language itself could seem like a violation of religious liberty. With a much larger range of groups participating freely in the discussion of public problems, the scope of injury was widened to include the intangible slights that once would have gone unnoticed. The end of toleration left revolutionary-era Americans with the challenging task of articulating their differences through inoffensive rhetoric.

This chapter connects the demise of exclusive religious establishments with the foundation of republican governments. It also traces the extension of equal recognition to previously marginal groups, ...
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This chapter connects the demise of exclusive religious establishments with the foundation of republican governments. It also traces the extension of equal recognition to previously marginal groups, such as Roman Catholics. Indeed, by the founding period, the wholesale condemnation of religious minorities had become quite rare and the presumption that faith of many different kinds was better than no faith at all had become widespread. James Madison’s struggle to extend the meaning of “religion” in the Virginia legislature and John Carroll’s efforts to ensure equal rights and recognition for Catholics highlight the widening scope of American pluralism.Less

“Equality or Nothing!” : Religious Pluralism in the Founding of the Republic

Chris Beneke

Published in print: 2006-11-01

This chapter connects the demise of exclusive religious establishments with the foundation of republican governments. It also traces the extension of equal recognition to previously marginal groups, such as Roman Catholics. Indeed, by the founding period, the wholesale condemnation of religious minorities had become quite rare and the presumption that faith of many different kinds was better than no faith at all had become widespread. James Madison’s struggle to extend the meaning of “religion” in the Virginia legislature and John Carroll’s efforts to ensure equal rights and recognition for Catholics highlight the widening scope of American pluralism.

This chapter argues that social justice requires that equality be publicly realized. Social justice is realized in social and political institutions that attempt to establish justice. It requires ...
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This chapter argues that social justice requires that equality be publicly realized. Social justice is realized in social and political institutions that attempt to establish justice. It requires that justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. In the case of justice as equality, it must not only be the case that people are treated as equals; they must be able to see that they are treated as equals. Hence, social justice requires what is called public equality. It is argued that public equality is grounded on the principle of equality defended in the last chapter and the circumstances of disagreement, diversity, fallibility, and cognitive bias that attend efforts to implement justice in any moderately complex society as well as the fundamental interests of persons in society. This grounds the idea of the egalitarian standpoint from which the justification of political institutions proceeds. That is the first stage of the argument for grounding of democracy on equality.Less

Social Justice and Public Equality

Thomas Christiano

Published in print: 2008-05-08

This chapter argues that social justice requires that equality be publicly realized. Social justice is realized in social and political institutions that attempt to establish justice. It requires that justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. In the case of justice as equality, it must not only be the case that people are treated as equals; they must be able to see that they are treated as equals. Hence, social justice requires what is called public equality. It is argued that public equality is grounded on the principle of equality defended in the last chapter and the circumstances of disagreement, diversity, fallibility, and cognitive bias that attend efforts to implement justice in any moderately complex society as well as the fundamental interests of persons in society. This grounds the idea of the egalitarian standpoint from which the justification of political institutions proceeds. That is the first stage of the argument for grounding of democracy on equality.

The enactment of the First Amendment did not automatically guarantee religious liberty. Americans came to see themselves as a Protestant Nation and enacted a de facto establishment of religion. The ...
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The enactment of the First Amendment did not automatically guarantee religious liberty. Americans came to see themselves as a Protestant Nation and enacted a de facto establishment of religion. The advent of Catholic immigrants provided the opposition and diversity needed to vindicate religious freedom. Historians have generally failed to recognize this development, and many of them continue to advocate an unhistorical nonpreferential establishment of religion, or to erroneously describe the Amendment as creating a “wall of separation” between Church and State.Less

The Continuing Emergence of Religious Liberty

Thomas J. Curry

Published in print: 2001-11-29

The enactment of the First Amendment did not automatically guarantee religious liberty. Americans came to see themselves as a Protestant Nation and enacted a de facto establishment of religion. The advent of Catholic immigrants provided the opposition and diversity needed to vindicate religious freedom. Historians have generally failed to recognize this development, and many of them continue to advocate an unhistorical nonpreferential establishment of religion, or to erroneously describe the Amendment as creating a “wall of separation” between Church and State.

The chapter presents a broad picture of the different churches across the Isles at the dawn of the century. It identifies structures, modes of government (episcopacy, presbyterianism, connexionalism, ...
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The chapter presents a broad picture of the different churches across the Isles at the dawn of the century. It identifies structures, modes of government (episcopacy, presbyterianism, connexionalism, congregationalism), and respective understandings of ‘clergy’ and ‘laity’. These are set against the backdrop of specific types of buildings — cathedrals, churches, chapels, and meeting-houses, and their ethos and regional/national distribution are described. The chapter emphasizes the extent to which buildings conveyed messages about the social character of denominations. It describes differences in styles of worship and modes of dress — preaching, praying, music — and their setting and surroundings, together with the theological and liturgical assumptions underlying them. It asks about change and continuity: the relationship between past and present in a new century. It probes the ‘public space’ churches occupied, both in terms of local communities and in relation to national politics and the constitution (establishment and disestablishment).Less

New Century, Old Faith

Keith Robbins

Published in print: 2008-09-25

The chapter presents a broad picture of the different churches across the Isles at the dawn of the century. It identifies structures, modes of government (episcopacy, presbyterianism, connexionalism, congregationalism), and respective understandings of ‘clergy’ and ‘laity’. These are set against the backdrop of specific types of buildings — cathedrals, churches, chapels, and meeting-houses, and their ethos and regional/national distribution are described. The chapter emphasizes the extent to which buildings conveyed messages about the social character of denominations. It describes differences in styles of worship and modes of dress — preaching, praying, music — and their setting and surroundings, together with the theological and liturgical assumptions underlying them. It asks about change and continuity: the relationship between past and present in a new century. It probes the ‘public space’ churches occupied, both in terms of local communities and in relation to national politics and the constitution (establishment and disestablishment).

This chapter describes the intellectual foundations of the movement toward disestablishment during the revolutionary period. It argues that, while a variety of ideologies influenced the founders—Whig ...
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This chapter describes the intellectual foundations of the movement toward disestablishment during the revolutionary period. It argues that, while a variety of ideologies influenced the founders—Whig theories, classical and civic republicanism, Calvinism, evangelicalism—Enlightenment rationalism was dominant. The founders synthesized these ideologies into a coherent theory of republicanism that was secular in orientation. This chapter also examines political disestablishment at the state level, demonstrating the nation’s evolution toward greater religious equality.Less

Revolutionary Disestablishment

Steven K. Green

Published in print: 2010-03-22

This chapter describes the intellectual foundations of the movement toward disestablishment during the revolutionary period. It argues that, while a variety of ideologies influenced the founders—Whig theories, classical and civic republicanism, Calvinism, evangelicalism—Enlightenment rationalism was dominant. The founders synthesized these ideologies into a coherent theory of republicanism that was secular in orientation. This chapter also examines political disestablishment at the state level, demonstrating the nation’s evolution toward greater religious equality.

This chapter covers the ideological influences that informed the Declaration of Independence and the federal Constitution. It discusses disestablishment on the federal level, which was led by James ...
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This chapter covers the ideological influences that informed the Declaration of Independence and the federal Constitution. It discusses disestablishment on the federal level, which was led by James Madison, examining both the controversy over ratification of the no-religious-test clause and the drafting of the First Amendment religion clauses. It argues that, by 1790, a general consensus existed among Federalists, Anti-Federalists, and even clergy about the secular nature of the Constitution.Less

Federal Disestablishment

Steven K. Green

Published in print: 2010-03-22

This chapter covers the ideological influences that informed the Declaration of Independence and the federal Constitution. It discusses disestablishment on the federal level, which was led by James Madison, examining both the controversy over ratification of the no-religious-test clause and the drafting of the First Amendment religion clauses. It argues that, by 1790, a general consensus existed among Federalists, Anti-Federalists, and even clergy about the secular nature of the Constitution.

This chapter traces the final political disestablishment in three New England states: New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. It examines the competing understandings of disestablishment ...
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This chapter traces the final political disestablishment in three New England states: New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. It examines the competing understandings of disestablishment during this period among Republicans, members of the Congregationalist Standing Order, and jurists.Less

New England Disestablishment

Steven K. Green

Published in print: 2010-03-22

This chapter traces the final political disestablishment in three New England states: New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. It examines the competing understandings of disestablishment during this period among Republicans, members of the Congregationalist Standing Order, and jurists.

If Arminianism shaped his social ideology, Christian naturalism shaped his spiritual one. The removal of God from interfering in the natural realm allowed Bentley a new type and degree of religious ...
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If Arminianism shaped his social ideology, Christian naturalism shaped his spiritual one. The removal of God from interfering in the natural realm allowed Bentley a new type and degree of religious toleration. He supported the freedom of religion both within and without Congregationalism, in fact dissolving the legal obligations of his own parish (the first Congregationalist to do so) and then publicly defending the rights of such dissenting views as the Gloucester Universalism. And he would open up the sacraments—Communion and, more importantly, baptism—beyond the range even of the most liberal of his peers. In short, he developed a unique theological libertarianism, sharing parts of the liberal, evangelical, and deist traditions but belonging to none of them.Less

Spiritual Libertarianism

J. Rixey Ruffin

Published in print: 2008-02-01

If Arminianism shaped his social ideology, Christian naturalism shaped his spiritual one. The removal of God from interfering in the natural realm allowed Bentley a new type and degree of religious toleration. He supported the freedom of religion both within and without Congregationalism, in fact dissolving the legal obligations of his own parish (the first Congregationalist to do so) and then publicly defending the rights of such dissenting views as the Gloucester Universalism. And he would open up the sacraments—Communion and, more importantly, baptism—beyond the range even of the most liberal of his peers. In short, he developed a unique theological libertarianism, sharing parts of the liberal, evangelical, and deist traditions but belonging to none of them.

This chapter discusses the twentieth-century history of Saudi Arabia through the biography of Hamad al-Jāsir. More than any other single person, al-Jāsir was responsible for shaping the modern ...
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This chapter discusses the twentieth-century history of Saudi Arabia through the biography of Hamad al-Jāsir. More than any other single person, al-Jāsir was responsible for shaping the modern genealogical culture of Saudi Arabia. The chapter examines al-Jāsir's life from his birth in 1909 in a central Arabian village to the beginnings of his genealogical project in the 1970s. It considers al-Jāsir's sometimes tumultuous relationship with his patrons in the Wahhabi religious establishment, his contributions to the development of the Saudi press and public culture, and his views on Arabia's bedouin populations and on the Arabic language. It also explores al-Jāsir's turn toward scholarship and the documenting of Saudi lineages in the last third of his life.Less

Ḥamad al-Jāsir: A Life in Context

Nadav Samin

Published in print: 2015-09-01

This chapter discusses the twentieth-century history of Saudi Arabia through the biography of Hamad al-Jāsir. More than any other single person, al-Jāsir was responsible for shaping the modern genealogical culture of Saudi Arabia. The chapter examines al-Jāsir's life from his birth in 1909 in a central Arabian village to the beginnings of his genealogical project in the 1970s. It considers al-Jāsir's sometimes tumultuous relationship with his patrons in the Wahhabi religious establishment, his contributions to the development of the Saudi press and public culture, and his views on Arabia's bedouin populations and on the Arabic language. It also explores al-Jāsir's turn toward scholarship and the documenting of Saudi lineages in the last third of his life.

This introductory chapter discusses the poetry of Ol′ga Berggol′ts. Unable to pretend to accept the values of the Stalin era without reservation, Berggol′ts combined in her poetry idealistic ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the poetry of Ol′ga Berggol′ts. Unable to pretend to accept the values of the Stalin era without reservation, Berggol′ts combined in her poetry idealistic enthusiasm and Party loyalty with feelings of doubt and disillusion which question everything the Soviet establishment purported to stand for. The chapter then sets out the purpose of the book, which is to explore ways in which the poet sets her own individual emotions and experience at the core of her writing, while retaining a strong sense that those emotions and experiences were shared by her readers. The study contends that Berggol′ts succeeds in giving voice to the complexities of the Soviet experience, and that her engagement with these complexities has contributed to critical neglect of her writing.Less

Introduction

Katharine Hodgson

Published in print: 2003-11-06

This introductory chapter discusses the poetry of Ol′ga Berggol′ts. Unable to pretend to accept the values of the Stalin era without reservation, Berggol′ts combined in her poetry idealistic enthusiasm and Party loyalty with feelings of doubt and disillusion which question everything the Soviet establishment purported to stand for. The chapter then sets out the purpose of the book, which is to explore ways in which the poet sets her own individual emotions and experience at the core of her writing, while retaining a strong sense that those emotions and experiences were shared by her readers. The study contends that Berggol′ts succeeds in giving voice to the complexities of the Soviet experience, and that her engagement with these complexities has contributed to critical neglect of her writing.

As people have spread around the world, they have taken with them a broad range of other species to satisfy a variety of human needs. Some of these species went on to establish wild populations well ...
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As people have spread around the world, they have taken with them a broad range of other species to satisfy a variety of human needs. Some of these species went on to establish wild populations well outside their native ranges. These biological invaders are a major component of current global change, and often represent threats to the maintenance of global biodiversity, human health, and the success of human economic enterprises. The continuing globalization of our society ensures that the need to understand the process of biological invasion will only increase in the future. There is also a growing recognition that the study of biological invaders provides significant insight into basic questions in ecology and evolution. Exotic birds provide a particularly good opportunity to study the causes and consequences of biological invasions. By combining good historical records of bird introductions with the detailed information available on many other aspects of avian biology, this book advances understanding of the invasion process while also exploring avian conservation biology, and basic principles of ecology and evolution. Chapters cover causes of non-randomness in which species get transported and released into novel environments, the stochastic (relating to numbers released) and deterministic (relating to species and location) effects that influence establishment success, patterns and processes in range expansion, and the ecology, genetics, and evolution of exotic birds in their new environment.Less

Avian Invasions : The Ecology and Evolution of Exotic Birds

Tim M. BlackburnJulie L. LockwoodPhillip Cassey

Published in print: 2009-06-25

As people have spread around the world, they have taken with them a broad range of other species to satisfy a variety of human needs. Some of these species went on to establish wild populations well outside their native ranges. These biological invaders are a major component of current global change, and often represent threats to the maintenance of global biodiversity, human health, and the success of human economic enterprises. The continuing globalization of our society ensures that the need to understand the process of biological invasion will only increase in the future. There is also a growing recognition that the study of biological invaders provides significant insight into basic questions in ecology and evolution. Exotic birds provide a particularly good opportunity to study the causes and consequences of biological invasions. By combining good historical records of bird introductions with the detailed information available on many other aspects of avian biology, this book advances understanding of the invasion process while also exploring avian conservation biology, and basic principles of ecology and evolution. Chapters cover causes of non-randomness in which species get transported and released into novel environments, the stochastic (relating to numbers released) and deterministic (relating to species and location) effects that influence establishment success, patterns and processes in range expansion, and the ecology, genetics, and evolution of exotic birds in their new environment.

In proposing macro markets, this book describes a substantial array of new markets, and attempts to indicate ways around some of the major barriers to the establishment and success of these markets. ...
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In proposing macro markets, this book describes a substantial array of new markets, and attempts to indicate ways around some of the major barriers to the establishment and success of these markets. These important barriers to the establishment of macro markets—perpetual claims, perpetual futures, options, swaps, and analogous markets—are the subject of most of the book. This introduction aims to give an idea of where the book is heading, what kinds of markets might be established, and a broad sense of whether such markets are in the realm of possibility. The different sections of the chapter are: The ideal: A world market for major income risks; Hedging income risk in today's markets; Markets as inventions; and Markets as accidents of history.Less

Introduction

Robert J. Shiller

Published in print: 1998-03-12

In proposing macro markets, this book describes a substantial array of new markets, and attempts to indicate ways around some of the major barriers to the establishment and success of these markets. These important barriers to the establishment of macro markets—perpetual claims, perpetual futures, options, swaps, and analogous markets—are the subject of most of the book. This introduction aims to give an idea of where the book is heading, what kinds of markets might be established, and a broad sense of whether such markets are in the realm of possibility. The different sections of the chapter are: The ideal: A world market for major income risks; Hedging income risk in today's markets; Markets as inventions; and Markets as accidents of history.

This chapter shows the purposes to which the myth of religious violence is put in the United States. In domestic politics, it has helped to marginalize certain practices such as public school prayer ...
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This chapter shows the purposes to which the myth of religious violence is put in the United States. In domestic politics, it has helped to marginalize certain practices such as public school prayer and aid to parochial schools. At the same time, it has helped to reinforce patriotic adherence to the nation-state as that which saves us from our other, more divisive identities. The chapter illustrates this process by showing the use of the myth of religious violence in the Supreme Court’s Establishment Clause decisions. In foreign policy, the myth helps to reinforce and justify Western attitudes, policies, and military actions toward the non-Western world, especially Muslims, whose primary point of difference with the West is said to be their stubborn refusal to tame religious passions in the public sphere. The chapter shows this use in academic (Bernard Lewis), government (Bush Doctrine), and journalistic (Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris) sources.Less

The Uses of the Myth

William T. Cavanaugh

Published in print: 2009-11-01

This chapter shows the purposes to which the myth of religious violence is put in the United States. In domestic politics, it has helped to marginalize certain practices such as public school prayer and aid to parochial schools. At the same time, it has helped to reinforce patriotic adherence to the nation-state as that which saves us from our other, more divisive identities. The chapter illustrates this process by showing the use of the myth of religious violence in the Supreme Court’s Establishment Clause decisions. In foreign policy, the myth helps to reinforce and justify Western attitudes, policies, and military actions toward the non-Western world, especially Muslims, whose primary point of difference with the West is said to be their stubborn refusal to tame religious passions in the public sphere. The chapter shows this use in academic (Bernard Lewis), government (Bush Doctrine), and journalistic (Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris) sources.

In addition to the speech, press, assembly, and petition clauses, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution contains two provisions dealing with the subject of religion: the Establishment Clause ...
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In addition to the speech, press, assembly, and petition clauses, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution contains two provisions dealing with the subject of religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. They read as follows: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Clearly, the religion clauses are intended to severely restrain Congress's power to legislate in the area of religion; but are the restrictions on Congress in this area absolute, or limited? More specifically, what restrictions are placed on Congress? When is it that a law can be said to touch on religion; is it only when the law mentions religion, or are there other laws that might fall within the limitations imposed by the religion clauses? And how are the sometimes seemingly contradictory commands of the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses to be reconciled? Finally, and most importantly, how does a structural approach to constitutional interpretation contribute to our understanding of these issues? These are the questions explored in this chapter.Less

The Religion Clauses: Reconciling Accommodation and Separation

ASHUTOSH BHAGWAT

Published in print: 2010-02-10

In addition to the speech, press, assembly, and petition clauses, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution contains two provisions dealing with the subject of religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. They read as follows: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Clearly, the religion clauses are intended to severely restrain Congress's power to legislate in the area of religion; but are the restrictions on Congress in this area absolute, or limited? More specifically, what restrictions are placed on Congress? When is it that a law can be said to touch on religion; is it only when the law mentions religion, or are there other laws that might fall within the limitations imposed by the religion clauses? And how are the sometimes seemingly contradictory commands of the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses to be reconciled? Finally, and most importantly, how does a structural approach to constitutional interpretation contribute to our understanding of these issues? These are the questions explored in this chapter.